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Erdogan, Putin Discuss Establishment of Power Plants, Gas Hub in Türkiye During BRICS Summit

Putin welcomes Erdogan before their meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan, southern Russia, on Wednesday (Turkish media).
Putin welcomes Erdogan before their meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan, southern Russia, on Wednesday (Turkish media).
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Erdogan, Putin Discuss Establishment of Power Plants, Gas Hub in Türkiye During BRICS Summit

Putin welcomes Erdogan before their meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan, southern Russia, on Wednesday (Turkish media).
Putin welcomes Erdogan before their meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan, southern Russia, on Wednesday (Turkish media).

Türkiye and Russia are moving towards expanding cooperation in the field of nuclear power plants and implementing an agreement to establish a hub for Russian natural gas in western Türkiye.
Russian Deputy President Yuri Ushakov stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will discuss the proposed gas hub project during their meeting at the BRICS summit in Kazan, southern Russia.
According to a Russian media report on Wednesday, which cited an unnamed diplomatic source, the construction of new power plants and the gas hub in Türkiye will be part of the discussions between Putin and Erdogan.
Currently, Russia’s Rosatom is responsible for building Türkiye’s first nuclear power plant in Akkuyu, located in the southern province of Mersin. The first of its four reactors is expected to be operational by the end of this year.
Türkiye is also planning two additional nuclear power plants in Sinop on the Black Sea coast and in Thrace (western Türkiye), but it has yet to decide which company will undertake the projects. Bids have been made by Chinese and Japanese companies, as well as Russia’s Rosatom.
On Oct. 12, 2022, during the Russian Energy Week forum, Putin proposed creating a Russian gas hub in Türkiye, which would become the largest supplier of gas to Europe. The Turkish president welcomed this suggestion and directed the country’s Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources to start planning the hub the following day.
However, the proposal has been met with negative reactions from Europe, as many European countries are seeking to reduce their dependency on Russian energy resources.
Before the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war on Feb. 24, 2022, Russia provided approximately 40% of Europe’s gas supplies. However, those were reduced due to what Russia described as technical problems caused by Western sanctions. European governments accused Russia of using energy as a political weapon.
Experts have noted that establishing a Russian gas hub in Türkiye would require significant investments, potentially beyond the financial capacity of both countries, whose economies are currently in decline. The project could take years to complete, and new pipelines would need to be built to transport gas from Thrace in western Türkiye to Bulgaria and then to Europe.
This plan faces competition from Greece, which launched a new gas pipeline with Bulgaria in July 2022 to supply American liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Additionally, Türkiye and Bulgaria signed an agreement in Jan. 2023 under which Bulgaria will import approximately 1.5 billion cubic meters of gas annually for 13 years from Turkish export facilities, reducing the need for a new pipeline between the two countries.

 

 

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IMF and Arab Monetary Fund Sign MoU to Enhance Cooperation

The MoU was signed by IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva and AMF Director General Dr. Fahad Alturki - SPA
The MoU was signed by IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva and AMF Director General Dr. Fahad Alturki - SPA
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IMF and Arab Monetary Fund Sign MoU to Enhance Cooperation

The MoU was signed by IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva and AMF Director General Dr. Fahad Alturki - SPA
The MoU was signed by IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva and AMF Director General Dr. Fahad Alturki - SPA

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the sidelines of the AlUla Conference on Emerging Market Economies (EME) to enhance cooperation between the two institutions.

The MoU was signed by IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva and AMF Director General Dr. Fahad Alturki, SPA reported.

The agreement aims to strengthen coordination in economic and financial policy areas, including surveillance and lending activities, data and analytical exchange, capacity building, and the provision of technical assistance, in support of regional financial and economic stability.

Both sides affirmed that the MoU represents an important step toward deepening their strategic partnership and strengthening the regional financial safety net, serving member countries and enhancing their ability to address economic challenges.

Business

Saudi Chambers Federation Announces First Saudi-Kuwaiti Business Council

File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT
File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT
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Saudi Chambers Federation Announces First Saudi-Kuwaiti Business Council

File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT
File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT

The Federation of Saudi Chambers announced the formation of the first joint Saudi-Kuwaiti Business Council for its inaugural term (1447–1451 AH) and the election of Salman bin Hassan Al-Oqayel as its chairman.

Al-Oqayel said the council’s formation marks a pivotal milestone in economic relations between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, reflecting a practical approach to enabling the business sectors in both countries to capitalize on promising investment opportunities and strengthen bilateral trade and investment partnerships, SPA reported.

He noted that trade between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait reached approximately SAR9.5 billion by the end of November 2025, including SAR8 billion in Saudi exports and SAR1.5 billion in Kuwaiti imports.

Business

Leading Harvard Trade Economist Says Saudi Arabia Holds Key to Success in Fragmented Global Economy

Professor Pol Antràs speaks during a panel discussion at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat).
Professor Pol Antràs speaks during a panel discussion at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat).
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Leading Harvard Trade Economist Says Saudi Arabia Holds Key to Success in Fragmented Global Economy

Professor Pol Antràs speaks during a panel discussion at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat).
Professor Pol Antràs speaks during a panel discussion at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat).

Harvard University economics professor Pol Antràs said Saudi Arabia represents an exceptional model in the shifting global trade landscape, differing fundamentally from traditional emerging-market frameworks. He also stressed that globalization has not ended but has instead re-formed into what he describes as fragmented integration.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat on the sidelines of the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies, Antràs said Saudi Arabia’s Vision-driven structural reforms position the Kingdom to benefit from the ongoing phase of fragmented integration, adding that the country’s strategic focus on logistics transformation and artificial intelligence constitutes a key engine for sustainable growth that extends beyond the volatility of global crises.

Antràs, the Robert G. Ory Professor of Economics at Harvard University, is one of the leading contemporary theorists of international trade. His research, which reshaped understanding of global value chains, focuses on how firms organize cross-border production and how regulation and technological change influence global trade flows and corporate decision-making.

He said conventional classifications of economies often obscure important structural differences, noting that the term emerging markets groups together countries with widely divergent industrial bases. Economies that depend heavily on manufacturing exports rely critically on market access and trade integration and therefore face stronger competitive pressures from Chinese exports that are increasingly shifting toward alternative markets.

Saudi Arabia, by contrast, exports extensively while facing limited direct competition from China in its primary export commodity, a situation that creates a strategic opportunity. The current environment allows the Kingdom to obtain imports from China at lower cost and access a broader range of goods that previously flowed largely toward the United States market.

Addressing how emerging economies should respond to dumping pressures and rising competition, Antràs said countries should minimize protectionist tendencies and instead position themselves as committed participants in the multilateral trading system, allowing foreign producers to access domestic markets while encouraging domestic firms to expand internationally.

He noted that although Chinese dumping presents concerns for countries with manufacturing sectors that compete directly with Chinese production, the risk is lower for Saudi Arabia because it does not maintain a large manufacturing base that overlaps directly with Chinese exports. Lower-cost imports could benefit Saudi consumers, while targeted policy tools such as credit programs, subsidies, and support for firms seeking to redesign and upgrade business models represent more effective responses than broad protectionist measures.

Globalization has not ended

Antràs said globalization continues but through more complex structures, with trade agreements increasingly negotiated through diverse arrangements rather than relying primarily on multilateral negotiations. Trade deals will continue to be concluded, but they are likely to become more complex, with uncertainty remaining a defining feature of the global trading environment.

Interest rates and artificial intelligence

According to Antràs, high global interest rates, combined with the additional risk premiums faced by emerging markets, are constraining investment, particularly in sectors that require export financing, capital expenditure, and continuous quality upgrading.

However, he noted that elevated interest rates partly reflect expectations of stronger long-term growth driven by artificial intelligence and broader technological transformation.

He also said if those growth expectations materialize, productivity gains could enable small and medium-sized enterprises to forecast demand more accurately and identify previously untapped markets, partially offsetting the negative effects of higher borrowing costs.

Employment concerns and the role of government

The Harvard professor warned that labor markets face a dual challenge stemming from intensified Chinese export competition and accelerating job automation driven by artificial intelligence, developments that could lead to significant disruptions, particularly among younger workers. He said governments must adopt proactive strategies requiring substantial fiscal resources to mitigate near-term labor-market shocks.

According to Antràs, productivity growth remains the central condition for success: if new technologies deliver the anticipated productivity gains, governments will gain the fiscal space needed to compensate affected groups and retrain the workforce, achieving a balance between addressing short-term disruptions and investing in long-term strategic gains.